


Eulogy for Severus Snape

by Sthrissa



Category: Harry Potter - Fandom
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-06
Updated: 2009-12-06
Packaged: 2017-10-04 05:10:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sthrissa/pseuds/Sthrissa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An unnamed member of the Order, considers the death of Severus Snape. This was written under the premise that Snape's actions during, and subsequent to the tower, were the instructions of Dumbledore, and because of them the battle was won. But the Wizarding World's track record with the concept 'innocent until proven guilty' has not been exactly pristine.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Eulogy for Severus Snape

**Author's Note:**

> This was written Post-HBP but before DH, so it's not compliant with the DH epilogue. I always felt that given the Wizarding World's track record it was highly likely Snape would have gotten screwed over post-war if he had survived.

Regret, Severus.

I had always believed that if by some miracle I were to survive the War, what I would regret most would be all the atrocities I had committed in the name of the Cause. I had always believed that it would be the murders and the tortures that would haunt me the most; that the countless innocents who fell by my hands, would be the ones to disturb my sleep. But they were actions in service of the Cause, and I do not regret them the most.

I regret many things, Severus, even things for which I was not responsible.

I regret the deaths of those in the Order – defending their ideals. I regret the deaths of Muggle-borns – targeted for their lineage. I regret the deaths of non-combatants – wrong place, wrong time. But they are the casualties of any war, and I do not regret them the most.

There were many things expected of you, Severus, that I regret.

I regret your role as a spy that exposed you to danger. I regret the game you were forced to play, in service of two Masters. I regret the death of your friend and confidant; your loss of protector and benefactor. I regret the tightrope that had been your life and the masks that you wore. But it served the Cause, and I do not regret them the most.

There have been many things that happened to you, Severus, that I regret.

I regret the condemnation for murdering the Master of your soul. I regret the vilification for serving the Master of your youth. I regret you being branded Traitor, and hunted throughout the world you called home. The ruthlessness of your capture, the brutality of your imprisonment, your services unrecognised, your death in hatred – these are things I regret keenly. But they were necessary and the War was won, and I do not regret them the most.

I accepted your sacrifices for the Cause, and blinded by my own role, I did not see them as the gifts they were. I did not offer you the same support that I would have desired; the support I received from those I called friend, and that I regret. I did not try to make your life easier, whilst you laboured to save the world I called my own, and that I regret. I failed to help with things that would have mattered only to you, because no-one gave me the responsibility to do so, and that I regret.

There are many things I regret, Severus, but what I regret most, is not choosing to act for you.

That, I suppose, has been the story of your life.


End file.
